Plugged In
by ReenstheHedgehog3
Summary: AU. Hope, love, loss, terror, trials, triumphs, hurt, anger, and cliches that have to do with video games abound. (I would also love suggestions for future chapters.) Reens (c) me, Tobias (c) Absolhunter251, Sonic & co. all belong to SEGA. Read. Review. Comment. Suggest. Love/Hate.
1. Prologue: Just a Game

Plugged In

Prologue: Just a Game

 _My breath hitched as I lunged forward, sword gleaming in my right hand. My health was low, to the 20% mark. I grinned, seeing the wizard in front of me shiver with fear. 'You're going down, buddy,' I thought, teeth clenched. My feet kissed the dirt with the soles of my dirty boots. With the team kills I made today, I could get some new equipment. My partner tossed me a health potion, and I guzzled it down like it was water. 50% health. Sweet. Just one more hit and he would be down for the count. I raised my battered sword and -_ *Beep! * *Beep! * *Beep! *

"Reens! Mija! ¿Dónde estás? ¿Estás jugando a ese juego en línea estúpido otra vez?"

Ah, my mother. She always yells at me for playing this game, but it's so addicting… I can't stop now.

"¡Mamá! Sólo déjame terminar este nivel primero! ¿Bueno?" She always does this to me.

I turn back to the screen and try to press the right button sequence when my mother opens my door and shuts my laptop, placing her hand on top of it. She looks at me with fire in her eyes. Oh brother.

"Cariño, te dije una y otra vez no jugar ese juego cuando llega a casa de la escuela. Usted sabe la tarea siempre es lo primero."

She puts my laptop on the floor and looks me straight in the eyes like she always does when she has sad news. I look down, but she lifts my face gently, forcing me to look.

"Cariño, sabes que estamos en un presupuesto bastante ajustado debido a que su padre fue despedido en su trabajo, por lo que podría por favor trate de no jugar ese juego? Realmente sería bueno si pudiera ayudar en la casa." I sigh, running my hand through my hair. "Sí mamá. Yo entiendo."

* * *

You want to know more about me. Well, my real name is Rain Selena Maricina, but everyone calls me Reens. To be honest, I have no idea why they call me that, but I've just stuck with it over the years. I'm a seventeen-year-old Hispanic female hedgehog with light blue fur, blue eyes, lightly tanned skin, and dark blue hair. Right now, I'm looking at myself in the mirror, frowning at my body.

Anyway, both of my parents are Hispanic, just like me. My mom is a coffee-brown hedgehog named Carmen Flor Maricina. She has light brown eyes and fur, curly black hair with brown ends, straight back quills and tanned skin. How I gained my own blue hair I have no idea, but my dad might've had something to do with it. He is a light green hedgehog named Alonso Mateo Maricina. He has chocolate brown eyes, platinum blond hair (he dyed it recently), messy front quills and lightly tanned skin like me. There must be something wrong with me if I'm the only one with blue eyes, right?

"Yo, hermanita! Vamos a llegar tarde a la escuela si no te das prisa para arriba!"

That's my brother, Carlos Maricina. He looks like my mother with her fur and hair, but his eyes are different; one green and one brown. His quills are partly straight in the back and messy in the front. He's twenty and a first year at the community college, but he still rides with me on the city bus every day.

"¡Bien! ¡Estaré ahí!" I grab my laptop and shut it down before heading downstairs in my school outfit for the first day. Mama insisted that I look as nice as possible, so today I'm wearing a little white short-sleeved dress with a jean jacket, pantyhose, and black shoes. My hair is up in a braid like always, but Mama put some fake flowers in in for an accent. Good thing there's extra clothes in my backpack. If I didn't have those, I'd have to wear the dress all day long, and I _hate_ wearing dresses.

"Adiós, niños! Que tengan un buen primer día!"

Mama and Papa stood on the porch to wave us off as we clambered onto the bus. I gave a small wave to them, although Carlos didn't do anything, as they grew smaller and smaller. When they were finally out of sight and earshot, I slid back down in my seat next to Carlos and sighed. "So, will you miss spending every day with your little sister?"

Carlos smirked and ruffled my head quills a bit, chuckling as I tried to smooth them back down. "Nah, you may be my sis, but I won't miss you. Our schools are right across the street, remember? And besides, you're going to make a whole bunch of new amigos."

I tried smiling back, but my chest hurt. I had left behind all my old friends at my old school, and to be completely honest, I didn't think anyone would like me or even care to get to know me. I didn't let Carlos catch on though; I didn't want him to worry.

The bus finally stopped at our street and we both hopped off, paying the bus driver our fares before exiting. Before I turned to enter my new high school, Carlos took me into his arms and gave me a friendly hug.

"Try to have a good day, okay, hermana? If you have any problems, you can always tell me."

"Don't worry, hermano, I will. No matter _what_ may happen. Te amo mucho, Carlos."

That was the last time I ever saw him.


	2. Chapter 1: Game Over

Plugged In

Game Over

It was just another day, really. Nothing to shake a stick at or throw your churro down for. Plan: Grab a schedule, find the classes, introduce yourself to said classes, blah de blah. At least I could change my clothes before first period. Like I mentioned before, I _hate_ dresses. I ended up sitting next to a preppy girl I didn't know, which was fine considering she never spoke to me.

At least, she didn't say a word until after class. I had just finished my Chemistry Honors pretest worksheet and turned it in, gathering my stuff, when I saw pink out of the corner of my eye. And not just pink, I mean _bright_ pink, like that sugary bubblegum kind of pink. It sickened me, to be honest. The pink blob decided to wait a moment before tapping my shoulder, and as I turned, she gave me a big smile, the cheesy kind that says, "I have to do this, so lighten up." I just stared as she started blabbing.

"Hi there! How are you? I wanted to welcome you to Briarwood High! My name's Amy Rose, and if you didn't know it already, I'm the student body president! So, what's your name?"

She took a breath as she read my badge.

"Rain, huh? Cool name, very mysterious. Well, if you need anything or want to chat, you know where to find me. Love your outfit. Very hipster chic!"

She skipped off, floating an orange flyer my way as she left. I ripped it to shreds. There was no way I was going to mess with the student council or their lead. Lifting my schedule, I noticed my next class was Art 4. Great, way behind on its concepts. My old school had an amazing program, and some of my pieces went on display. Small glass cases, but still, it was good.

Class was about to start when I flopped down in my chair. My art supplies were all laid out as the teacher walked in and spotted me. Since I was in the seat closest to the door, I wasn't hard to miss. However, he didn't seem to want to expose me in front of the whole class, which I was grateful for. Instead, he went over to his desk and sat on top of it. He looked to be not much older than Carlos, with a few paint splatters on his smock and hair.

"Alright, my future da Vincis. Welcome to Art 4. Instead of going around the classroom and saying names like kindergartners, I'm going to start off with your first assignment of the year. You are going to create something that describes you, but I don't want any words. That's the only catch. Good luck. You have the entire hour to come up with something."

No words, huh? Should be easy. I jumped up from my seat and started with grabbing a magazine and flipping through its pages for anything that described me. Until I heard voices squeal behind me.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe _he_ is in this class!"

"I know! He's just so _cute_!"

They were so annoying, but I couldn't help turning my head slightly to see what the squawking was all about. A cobalt blue hedgehog, sitting three seats away from me, was busily sketching something in his medium-sized sketchbook. He perked his ears up, looked up from drawing, waved at them, then returned to his work.

Oh, I get it. One of the popular kids. I ignored them and returned to skimming, continuing to cut out some pictures of women in darker clothing; not exactly gothic, but not trendy either. A snicker came from my left side, and I looked from the corner of my eye to see a chipmunk with auburn hair texting on her iPhone 6. Not being a snitch, I decided not to say anything. Good thing the teacher has good eyesight. He caught her as fast as a flytrap catches a fly. She huffed and started drawing a crown.

By the time the hour ended, I had drawn other aspects of my life to go along with the photos: portraits of my family, some of our favorite traditions, and my dog, King. I had also drawn a video game console, a laptop, and a border with some vines and flowers. I made sure to keep most of it in black and white, but colored the most important things in. The bell rang, and everyone stood up to gather their art and hand it in. I was the last person to hand my art in, and I saw him nod in approval as I exited.

Finally, besides art, I was heading to my favorite class of all: choir. I had been in choir throughout my school year, singing in ensembles and as a soloist. I never gained any awards except for some good ratings at contest, but I didn't care too much. I just sang because I enjoyed it. When I reached the door, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Students, teachers, and faculty, we are going into emergency lockdown. Please keep everyone inside your classrooms and follow intruder protocol. I repeat, we are going into emergency lockdown."

Shoot. I was outside.

The door quickly opened and a gloved hand grabbed my arm, pulling me inside. I fell on top of a body which grunted from the impact. I wasn't that heavy, only 98 pounds, so it wasn't too hard of a fall. The guy who had saved me was a red echidna with purple eyes. He looked me over before leading me to the very back of the choir room, where everyone else was hiding. He motioned for me to keep quiet, which I was more than glad to do considering how scared I was. The whole time, I thought about Carlos. Was he near the shooters? Was his college under lockdown? Was he shot? Was he…

The air tensed around us. By now it had been the whole hour, but they silenced the bells to keep the shooters from coming near us. My cellphone buzzed in my pocket, along with many others', but I quickly shut it off to keep it from ringing. It was my mother trying to get hold of me.

"Oh Dios, por favor ayudarnos. Mantenga esos pistoleros lejos de aquí. Mantengo mi hermano seguro. Te lo ruego. Amén." (Oh God, please help us. Keep those shooters away from here. Keep my brother safe. I'm begging you. Amen.)

Soon, sirens sounded outside the classroom as the intercom buzzed again. "Students, teachers and faculty, we are all clear. Please exit the building in an orderly fashion. I repeat, we are all clear. Please exit the building…" Chaos ensued as students ran out.

As I saw the police take the suspects away, one officer came up to my choir teacher and talked to her in a faint voice. She nodded and motioned for me to join her. As I approached, she tried to hug me. I pushed her away, obviously confused. With a sigh, she said the words I was dreading.

"I'm sorry, Rain, but your brother, Carlos … He… he died instantly."

¡Dios mío! (Oh my God!)


	3. Chapter 2: Respawn

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Respawn

Carlos' funeral was today. Although it's a Thursday, the school let my mom take me. It was open casket, bad choice if you ask me. I mean, sure, they cleaned him up, but it's hard seeing your only brother lying in an oak casket right in front of you, just… there. Not moving or breathing, just… lying there, like he's asleep and nobody woke him up. At least he's in heaven.

The preacher didn't seem to care much; he just said the regular rites of passage and coughed into his hankie as relatives came forward to pay their respects.

"Lo siento por su pérdida."

Sorry for your loss. Sure, thank you, random relative. You never knew him like I did. You never sat with him on the bus and told him your wildest dreams; never had him wake you up in the middle of the night because he was scared, even though he was three years older than you; never gave him hugs even when he didn't want them; never cooked him soup and crackers when he got sick; never fought one minute and cried the next. You didn't love him like I did.

"Cariño, ¿quieres decir adiós a Carlos?"

My mother looked at me, tears threatening to spill over down her cheeks. My father sat next to her, holding her hand, although he shed no tears; I don't think I ever saw papa cry. I nodded and got up, my long black slacks swishing through the grass. I had to say goodbye to him, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to let go. He was my best friend.

I stood over him, hands clasped over my chest. With a shudder, I started to bawl. Not very brave of me, I guess. Between my sobs, I whispered to him that I would miss him, that he would always have a place in my heart, and that I would never forget him. When my tears were spent, I moved over to where my parents stood and watched solemnly as the casket was closed. He was gone now, and there was nothing I could do.

We all headed home to rest and recover, but the first place I stopped when we arrived was Carlos' room. I looked around at it, smiling fondly at the pictures I had drawn for him thumbtacked to the walls. He had kept all of them, even if they were terrible. My favorite was us sitting beneath an oak tree, his arm around my shoulders. It was dark, and a shooting star flung itself across the sky. He smiled as I gave it to him, ruffling my hair with a muffled "Thanks, sis."

Mama came into the room and shooed me out, straightening things and muttering to herself in Spanish. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but after she locked his door, she came out to me and looked me straight in the eyes. I said nothing, but held out my hands to her. She took them in hers and comforted me.

"Sé que él, mi lluvia se pierda, pero es hora de que nos movemos hacia adelante y mirar hacia el futuro."

She was saying it more for herself, though. I couldn't look at her.

* * *

The next day was Friday, and despite everything, I was still slightly happy about school. I made acquaintances with the echidna who saved my life, and we saw each other in the hallway and talked. I found out his name was Knuckles, he had a younger sibling, and he was nineteen. That's as far as we got before the bell rang for my first class. Still, it was a start.

Amy was already near my seat before class started, so I asked her what she wanted from me. She smirked and handed me a form.

"I know you didn't read the flyer, so here's something for you to fill out. It's a list of the clubs we have here at Briarwood. Bring it back when you've got it done, okay?"

She plopped down in her desk and pulled out her phone to text. The Chem teacher was lax about it since we didn't have anything to do except go over the pretest and a few formulas. Easy.

I had nothing better to do, so I skimmed over the form Miss Preppy handed to me. Fandom Club, Robotics, Gaming, Music, Art- hmmm, art? Maybe. I liked drawing, music, and video-games, so what did I have to lose? I filled out the three items and handed it to Amy after class ended. She took it from me as if I had sneezed and wiped snot over her face, then left me alone with thoughts and worries.

Art class was as interesting as the first day. Our teacher looked us over and smiled, but his was more comforting and genuine.

"I know we've had a bit of a scare the past few days, so I want you to paint your emotions. Use whatever medium you wish, and make sure it's school appropriate."

I had just gotten up to get paint when a cold, smooth sensation ran down my cheek. I touched it and saw my fingers were stained red. Snickers came from up front, and as I looked for a towel, a gust of wind blew by me, holding a roll of paper towels.

"Heh, sorry about that. My paint tube must've splotched you."

The cobalt hedgehog cleaned my cheek and helped carry my paints back to my spot. He grinned and introduced himself as Sonic. I thanked him, then went ahead to paint how I felt. I was using an array of blues and blacks while others were using reds, greens, and some browns. He was still standing next to me, and as I looked up, he invited me to sit with him. I blinked and said yes.

He let me sit next to him as we compared our projects, and I could feel eyes boring into my neck.

"That's just Sally. She's had a crush on me forever, but I keep telling her it won't work out."

Sally stuck out her tongue at me, then went back to chatting with two other girls, a rabbit and a mongoose.

"Besides, I'm not too keen on the dating thing. You ever dated?"

I was startled by his question and accidentally spilled blue paint on Sally's work. She gasped and turned to me, growling.

"You idiot! You ruined it! Now I need to start all over again. Thanks a lot, freak."

"I-I-"

"Cut it out, Sally. It was just an accident."

She grumbled and called the teacher over to complain, but he didn't seem unnerved.

"In fact, it looks better this way. You were missing sorrow in your work. Well done."

She scoffed and went to turn it in, cursing under her breath. "You are _so_ getting it, freak.

* * *

The next two classes, Choir and English, passed by uneventfully. Sally was in my choir class along with Amy and their respective posses. Why was it that everywhere I turned they always showed up? At least I don't sing like a crow. Trust me, I sit _right_ next to her. Sally sounds like a crow choking on corn. Ugh. English fared better; neither snob was in my range of vision. Knuckles (or Knux, as he prefers) was there, and he helped me come up with a topic for my paper. Sonic arrived late, so he was assigned to our group. Not that I complained, but Knux didn't seem to like it.

Lunch came around quicker than I had expected. Since Briarwood had so many students, lunch was divided into three shortened periods. I had first, and unfortunately, neither of my new acquaintances were at the same lunch as me. I ended up trying to find a seat, only to be rejected and sit on the floor. Not what I had in mind, but what are you gonna do? Así es la vida. Such is life. Sometimes it stinks.

Least, that's what I thought until I felt something soft and bushy flap against my face. I looked up to see a yellow-orange fox, about my age, standing in line to buy a soda. He looked down at me, slightly confused, before offering a hand.

"What are you doing down there?"

"Oh. I, ah…"

"Couldn't find a spot, eh? Don't worry, there's room at my table if you wanna join us."

At first, I was ticked because he didn't let me finish, but I thought better of it. He bought his cherry soda and helped me up from the ground, albeit a little slower due to my feet falling asleep. We walked to the table together.

Great, the princess herself is in Tails' (as he likes to be called) table. Por favor no me mates. Please don't kill me.


	4. Chapter 3: Level Up

The Last Warrior

Level Up

Ugh, it's cold and windy today. Good thing I have a warm enough jacket and all; otherwise I'd be freezing my butt off. Fall is usually a warm time of year here, but I guess the weather wanted to change some things up a bit. I usually take the city bus by myself on school days, but today, someone decided to join me. She was sitting in the front row and waved excitedly as I climbed on to pay my fare.

"Rain! Hey Rain! Over here, sit by me!"

She pulled me down next to her with a thump.

Amy talked the whole way there. I swear to Chaos, that girl would _not_ shut up for anything. Even the bus driver, a middle-aged human male, looked peeved. Clothes, boys, fashion- and she's the student body president, for Pete's sake! At least when we got there she shut up - for a good ten seconds.

"So, why'd you ride the bus today?"

"My car's in the garage right now, so I gotta get it fixed. You?"

I blushed slightly. "I ride every day."

"Really? Where's your car?"

"Oh… I don't have a license yet. A permit, just no license. Besides, how the heck am I gonna save up enough money for a car?"

We split up to our lockers before the first bell rang. I grabbed my stuff for Chem and was about to go there when a cry came from the hallway. My ears perked up and I made my way towards the sound. Sally and her 'friends' were all in front of a young female rabbit with cream fur and brown eyes. Her stuff was all over the ground and she was rubbing her cheek. My anger started to bubble as they teased her, but boiled over when the mongoose tried to hit her. "Dejas mejor esta chica sola o te voy a darle una paliza a todos en la próxima semana." (You better leave this girl alone or I'm going to knock you all into next week.) Her fist went down, and she smirked, leering at me.

"I don't understand a word of Spanish, Sally, but I think she wants to hit us."

"Ya, that gal wants to beat us up, Sally-girl. What do we do?"

Sally chuckled as she walked toward me, pushing me into the opposite wall.

"Well, then, let's show her what we do to people who try to make us feel like idiots."

Just then, the bell rang for class to begin. Mrs. Holly was in the hallway like she usually is, so she saw the whole thing. "Acorn, Mongoose, Rabbot, care to explain why you are hurting these students?"

They tried to protest, but she gave them all red slips and shooed them away to the office. She then came and checked me over for injuries. The girl had gathered her things to her knees by now, so I went over to her and helped her up.

"T-Thank you, um…"

"My name is Rain, but people call me Reens, Reens Maricina."

"I'm Cream, Cream Parker. It's very nice to meet you, Reens."

I smiled when she said that.

Her Physics class was right near mine, so Mrs. Holly let me take Cream to the nurse's office. Luckily, she didn't have any cuts, bruises or scrapes. I had a little bit of a sore back, but it didn't last long. Sally and her posse ended up getting detention after school for fighting, which I was a tad grateful for. Art class was next, so I hurried there as fast as I could and gave Mr. Miller my pass. He took it, read it over, and nodded, letting me go to my seat.

"Today, tomorrow and Wednesday, we're going to be drawing portraits. Notice how I didn't say self-portraits. You're going to choose one of your art classmates that you don't know very well and draw a portrait of them. If you don't finish today, take a few minutes on Thursday to finish."

I saw Sally's mongoose friend looking at me and grimaced.

"Hey, come over here so I can draw you," she ordered, slapping the seat beside her. Everyone else had a partner, so I obliged, although begrudgingly. I also noticed Sally paired up with Sonic. No surprise there; the girl was head over heels for him.

"I'm Mina. We didn't really get a chance to chat," she said, rummaging through her bag for a pencil.

"I'm Rain, but everyone calls me Reens."

"Reens? That's stupid. Oh well, darn," she replied, pulling out nothing and placing her hand on the paper. She looked over at me and stared. I looked over at her and cocked my head, ears twitching.

"Um… is everything okay?"

"Duh, start drawing me, you dummy. I can't draw crap to save my life."

My fur bristled. I hated being called dumb, and here this chick was slamming me into the tabletop. I gripped my pencil firmly in my hand and started drawing her, looking up every few moments to get a fair glimpse of her face. Thing was, she wouldn't keep still. She kept turning around and blabbing to her friends about how boring this class was and how she was only taking it for an elective and didn't need it.

"You started yet?"

She finally looked over, her face a pure expression of boredom and smugness all rolled up into one. I had half a mind to grab her face and hold it as I drew, but then the portrait would come out funny, and besides, I wasn't much for violence. Instead, I grunted yes and tried to complete the shape of her face, but she turned around when Bunnie, another friend of Sally's, smugly commented about some fashion or whatnot. Wasn't hilarious to me, but Mina squealed like a piglet. I finally just gave up on her and turned over a page in my sketchbook, choosing to draw Kirito and Asuna from SAO instead. She placed her hand spread-eagle over it and glared.

"Draw _me_ , doofus!"

That was the final limit. I slammed my mechanical pencil on the sketchbook and glared at her. She looked at me, a tad worried, and I growled.

"Look, I don't appreciate your smart alecky attitude and the way you keep treating me like I don't know the difference between a pencil and a pen. You really need to get your act together so we can get this damn drawing assignment done, or I _will_ make you fail. Got it?"

Her face twisted, and she raised her hand. "Mr. Miller!" He walked over to her as she began to cry. "Reens is being mean to me! She won't draw me!"

Seriously, who would believe that crap? I tried to explain my side of the story, but Mina kept whining and sniffling. Finally, Mr. Miller led us both out of the classroom so I could have a chance to talk to him. I explained what happened, and he seemed to understand.

"Miss Mongoose, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to give you a failing grade on this assignment. Miss Maricina was simply trying to follow directions, and I assume your efforts in this class are half-hearted. I suggest talking to the counselor and switching out of my class next semester to something more… fitting for your talents."

Wow, he stood up for me; that's a first. Mina huffed and stormed towards the office, no doubt to complain. Mr. Miller followed me back to class, and he told me that I could choose another partner if I wished. I was about to say no when a soft, dark voice sounded behind me.

"She can be my partner if she wants to."

I turned around to see a tall, black hedgehog with red stripes on his quills and ruby-colored eyes calmly sucking on what appeared to be a cherry-flavored Dum-Dum. Rising, I nodded meekly and sat next to him as he pulled out his own sketchbook.

"Um, what are you gonna-?"

He shushed me and tilted my head slightly to the right, nodding as if to say, "Stay right there." I followed, but he hardly could begin when the bell rang. As we got up to leave, he took my hand in his and shook it.

"Shadow Armstrong."

"Reens Maricina."

He nodded, hesitating before letting go of it. "We should be able to get a proper start tomorrow."

"Yeah, sounds good."

He left in front of me, but as I exited, I heard a few snickers behind my back. Turns out he's in my choir class and sings bass, has a low grade in English (which he needs a tutor for) and breezes through Algebra like it's nothing.

Lunch came around again, but this time Cream invited me to sit with her and her friends. She introduced me to them: Rouge Diamond, a bat with ivory fur and cleavage to die for, Silver Jackson, a hedgehog guy with an unfortunate hairstyle, Blaze Coleman, a lavender cat with a fiery personality, and Cosmo Hargrove, a seedrian who hardly ever spoke above a whisper. Tails came over with Knuckles to join our table, which was getting crowded. Looking up from my sandwich, I noticed Shadow sitting, nothing in front of him, with an orange hedgehog who had lime-colored eyes and purple wings eating Chinese food. Shadow's ears perked up and he looked over, smirking. I blushed and looked away, but not before the orange hedgehog leaned over and asked who I was. I think he likes me.


	5. Chapter 4: Power-Up

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Power-Up

"Damn, Shads. You gotta get that English grade up or Mrs. Wilkes is gonna have your hide."

"Save it, faker. At least my grade is higher than yours."

"By what, like, two points?"

I shook my head and smiled as I heard them arguing back and forth. Shadow and Sonic are incompatible, but they still make a pretty good team. The day was over, and I was heading to my favorite class: library tech. Yes, yes, I know being a library tech isn't a class, but I love being in there and helping people find what they want. Fortunately, my colleague was already there, flipping through a Harry Potter novel. Not for me, but what are ya going to do? She loves it.

"Hey, Reens! I'm just finishing up book four."

"Blaze, didn't you already read all of those?"

"Tch, yes, but is there a reason I can't read them all over again?"

I smirked and shook my head, inwardly chuckling at her as I filled out my paper for the day.

"So, think we'll have a large group?"

"Pfft, with all the projects going on, I'd say there's gonna be a huge group coming in right about now-" Students filed in, most of them dispersing to their favorite shelves, but one stayed behind, looking around as if lost.

"Hey Reens, why don't you take care of him? I've got it good right here."

"Oh, okay, lemme know if you need help."

From the back, I could tell it was Shadow, and he was downright blowing a fuse. His fists were clenched, Sonic's back to his right side. I could tell he was nervous.

I gently sidled up to him, clearing my throat. His right ear twitched my way. "What?"

"Um, er, need help finding something?"

He looked at me, a small flash of surprise in his face. He grunted, turning back to normal. "Mrs. Wilkes is making us do a research paper over something that's important in our lives, and I've got no idea where to start. I don't want to do something cliché, like family or friends or any of that crap."

"Hmm. Well, it all depends on anything you think is important."

He looked at me and sighed, running his hand through his quills. "Nothing's that important to me right now; I'm just..."

"Lost?"

He nodded, scowling a tad. "Damn, I hate English so much right now."

Yes, had a feeling he was going to say just that. Then I did something I never thought I'd do. "So… Do you need a tutor?"

He stared at me as if I had grown a second head.

"A _tutor_?"

My ears drooped as I nodded. "Y-yeah. A tutor in English, since it's your worst subject and all."

He tensed, a sign he was surprised I knew. His ears stood straight up and he smirked. "What are you wanting from me, then?"

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "Me? Nothing, just to help you. Although… I could use some aid with my Algebra grade. I-if you were willing, that is."

"Hmph. I knew you wanted something from me. All right, then. English for Algebra. Sounds like a fair trade. When do you want to begin this?"

"After school sound good to you? We can start tomorrow."

He grabbed my hand and we shook. "Deal."

After I helped him find a book about something he cared about (didn't know he was into conservation methods, to be honest), I went to fill out my tasks for the day.

"So, you and mister tall, dark, and brooding hit it off, huh?"

I jumped to see Blaze behind me, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

"I-It's not like that at all. We're just going to be tutoring each other after school. I made sure to tell my choir teacher beforehand."

She rolled her eyes. "Uh huh, sure. Well, have fun you two," she sniggered, giving me a tiny wave before the bell rang to signal the end of the day. Seriously, me and him? Never.

Hoping I still had enough time, I grabbed my stuff quickly.

"Where you off to in such a hurry?"

"I gotta go really quick or I'll miss my bus," I replied, slinging my shoulder bag over me.

"You sure? I could always take you home in my car."

"No, I'm good, thanks," I flung over my shoulder, running as fast as I could without bumping into anyone. Just my luck, someone got in my way and I almost plowed him over.

"What's the rush, sweet thing?"

I looked up to see a tall green hedgehog wearing a crisp white shirt (with stains of what I assumed to be chocolate), ragged whitewashed jeans, and scuffed green sneakers. His eyes were a brilliant sapphire blue, though of a deeper shade than mine, and he wore a pair of red sunglasses perched on top of his head. Popping a cherry cordial in his mouth, he chewed and stared at me.

"Your boyfriend ticked off at ya?"

"I don't have one. Now if you could please just move out of the way, I gotta catch my bus."

He smirked, licking the chocolate from his lips slowly. I didn't like the looks of him, especially when he came closer to my side and chuckled.

"You know, I bet you'd taste much better than this," he growled playfully, swinging his arm around my back. "Why don't we head on over to my place and-"

"Hold it right there, Scourge," a deep voice sounded. I turned, seeing Shadow and the orange hedgehog from earlier, and they both looked ticked.

"Let her go home."

"Or what? She's gonna be mine, no matter what you guys do to me."

The orange one flew behind me and grabbed me, picking me up bridal style.

"Good thinking, Tobias," Shadow acknowledged, raising his hands at Scourge. "I'll take care of him, you take care of her." So, his name was Tobias, huh? No time for me to react because we were flying towards the door.

Now I would never admit this to anyone, but I am freakin' _terrified_ of heights. Cue me now screeching in terror as Tobias and I flew high above the school. He looked at me as if to say, "What the heck you screamin' for? I ain't gonna drop you." I clung to his neck as he made his way around, quickly pointing at my bus stop as he neared it. As we landed, I noticed the bus schedule.

"Damn." I was too late. There was no way I was going to wait an hour for the next bus, but it looked like I would have to. Suddenly, Tobias started moving his hands around. I knew some sign language, so I nodded and tried to answer. _Do you want me to take you home_? He signed, and I thought for a second before I signed back. _Yes, but can we walk_? He smirked and shook his head, flapping his wings. _Flying's faster._

This time, I tried closing my eyes as we lifted off the ground, but Tobias needed me to tell -or, show- him where my house was. It took a while since I lived a few blocks away, but eventually we made it. He set me down on my front stoop and pushed the doorbell. _Oh, no you don't have to do that,_ I signed to him as we waited. Turns out my mom was the only one home, and her eyes narrowed as she saw Tobias at the door with me.

"Reens, ¿quién es este chico?" Who is this boy?

"Um, él es un tipo que conozco de la escuela." He's a boy I know from school."

Tobias waved, and my mom looked at him again.

"¿Por qué no puede hablar?" Why can't he talk?

 _"_ Él podría ser mudo, pero no sé." He could be mute, but I don't know why.

I signed to him asking if he was mute, and he shook his head yes.

"Es mudo, mamá." He's mute, mama.

"Hmph." She tugged a bit on her hair, which she only did if she was nervous.

"I'll, um, see you later, Tobias," I stammered, then he nodded and started flying away.

I could tell Mama didn't like him that much, but I wasn't about to ask. Instead, I changed the subject. "So, where's Dad?"

Her expression changed from one of anger to one of relief. "Tu papá esté en un nuevo trabajo en la acería."

A metalworking plant? Dad's got a new job at last? Thank Chaos. "So, when's he coming home?"

"Él será a casa tarde." He wouldn't be home until later? That was fine, if he finally had a job and said job was a good fit for him. I grinned and hugged Mama tight. "I'll be up in my room working on homework, okay?" She nodded and let me go on up to my room.

Three hours later, Dad came home. I had finished my homework by then and was asleep, but I felt his kiss on my head. That was enough to wake me up a little, but I pretended to still be asleep when he left. Soon, my ears twitched with the sounds of the two of them talking and laughing. _Oh Carlos, I wish you could see them like this. You can from in heaven, anyway._ My life was really looking up. It would only be a matter of time when everything would crash and burn again.


	6. Chapter 5: Questing, Questing

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Questing, Questing

"Pfft, pfft!"

I blew air out of my mouth as I ran, my bookbag slung haphazardly across my back. It was my first day tutoring with Shadow, and I didn't want to be late. I slowed down once I got to the library, making sure not to knock anything over as I looked for him. He was sitting at a table in the very back of the library, seemingly dozing. Putting my bag down beside my seat, I plopped in the chair. One lazy red eye popped open and looked at me, then rolled.

"You're late," he observed, slightly frowning. I huffed and placed my Algebra homework on the table, death-glaring at him from the corner of my eye.

"You told me _where_ , but not exactly _when_ , so how can I be _late_?"

His mouth opened for a sharp retort, but before he could say anything, chattering could be heard drawing near. It was Tails, Knuckles, and the rest of their gang, including Sally. Why she was with them instead of her own posse I couldn't figure out. She noticed the two of us together, her lips pulling into a wide smirk.

"Hey Reens, Shadow," Tails greeted us in as quiet a whisper as he could manage. Knuckles grinned, Rouge checked her nails, Blaze was nose-deep in a book per usual, Silver was messing with his quills, Cream was ogling Tails, and Cosmo smoothed down her dress shyly. Sally didn't even look at me; her eyes focused on Shadow instead. _So,_ _ **she**_ _likes him too… wonder how Amy would react to_ _ **that**_ _…_

"We were bored, so just decided to hang here," Knuckles chuckled, punching Tails lightly in the arm.

"Hey!"

"So, Reens, you think I should change my hairstyle? It makes me look like I do drugs or something," Silver complained, walking over and sitting next to me, his feet up on the desk next to my homework.

"One, get your nasty toes off the table. Two, I think if you just smoothed them down a little and straightened them, that would do the trick."

"Really?"

"So, Reens, are you planning on trying out for the solo in choir? You're doing really good," Knuckles interrupted, sitting on Shadow's other side.

"Uh, I dunno. I was thinking Shadow could do it. His bass is really rich, and-"

"Um, R-Reens? C-Could you help me with my chemistry homework? I d-don't quite get this p-part."

"Sure, Cosmo. Let me just-"

"Oh please, hun. If anyone's getting the solo, it's _me_ ," Sally popped in, smirking.

"No offense, _hun_ , but you sound like a crow choking on a piece of corn," Rouge countered, earning a chorus of jeers.

Now I knew Shadow and I weren't going to have any work done for our first tutoring session, so I sighed and moved over to where Cosmo was sitting.

"So where exactly are you having trouble?"

"Well, it's-"

"Hey, Sally, why don't you ditch these losers? We're going shopping," Mina blurted, walking in like the Queen of Siam. Sally's face brightened and she pushed in her chair, hitting my hip with it.

"Yeah, let's go. I got my homework done in study hall anyway."

I rubbed my hip, hissing a little.

"Reens? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. So, what you wanna do with these chemicals is find out what the number on the periodic table is, then add it to this, then place it in this formula, and voila. There you go."

Cosmo brightened up, and I smiled back. Cream and Tails were talking about an artistic project they were doing together for Psychology, and I could tell it was just an excuse to look into each other's eyes. Shadow was stuck in the middle of a heated conversation between Rouge and Knuckles, and I could tell he didn't want to be there, so I excused myself from the table, pulling Shadow along with me. He shrugged my grip off as soon as we were out of earshot.

"I appreciate the favor, but with all of them here, how are we supposed to get any work done?"

I sighed, rubbing my temple. "I didn't know they were going to show up, especially the princess herself. If I had known, we could've moved to a different place."

"Especially in a library, for Chaos' sake." He looked down for a minute, pulling out two cherry-flavored suckers from his pocket and stuffing one in his mouth. "Wan' one?" His speech was slightly muffled by the sucker, so I just nodded and took it. Wait, did I just _giggle_? _Oh Dios mío._

"If you wanted, we could work on our tutoring things and the art portrait as well. Mr. Miller went ahead and gave us an extended deadline," Shadow suggested.

"Where, exactly? We can't go to my house; my mom would freak out in Spanish if she saw another strange boy on her front stoop. No offense, Shadow."

He smirked and pulled out his cell. "We'll be heading to my house."

 _Santo cielo. ¿Voy a la casa de Shadow? Y conocer a sus padres? Esto es muy raro…_ (Holy crap. Am I really going to Shadow's house? And meeting his parents? This is so weird…)

"Hey, Tobias. Yeah, Reens is with me. We're heading over. See you in a bit." He hung up and turned, seeing my face agape. "Tobias may be mute, but he isn't blind. If you're wondering how he knows, I just Face-timed him. Let's go."

* * *

Shadow ended up carrying my stuff for me, even though I told him he didn't need to, as we both climbed on the bus. He even paid my fare for me, which was a nice touch, although a bit strange. We didn't talk the whole ride, Shadow's ears blocked by his earbuds. Whatever he was sullenly listening to, it was very loud, and I almost had to turn my own earbuds on to block it out. However, we made it to his house before I could voice my complaints.

"Here we are," he grumbled, letting me see.

The front of his house almost looked like mine, with the wide front porch and tall columns. The roof was tiled with red tiles, which I felt matched him in a way. As soon as we walked in the door, I was knocked down by 110 pounds of slobbering, wet fur.

"Giant! Down, boy!" Shadow pulled the mutt off me and rubbed its head. "Sorry about that, Reens."

"Oh, it's cool. He's kinda like my dog, King. Except King's less drooly, I guess."

Giant sniffed me to make sure I was alright, then licked the side of my face. I laughed and rubbed him, making his right back leg twitch in what I think was delight.

When he finally released me, I was able to get up and actually look around Shadow's home. It looked more modern than my place was, with high-end furniture and expensive-looking glassware relics everywhere you could lay your eyes on. I heard a rustle coming from where I assumed was the kitchen, and a female hedgehog who looked almost exactly like Shadow, with lighter pink quills, stepped out.

"Shadow, dear, you never said you were bringing company."

She looked me up and down, then chuckled. "Giant gave you the welcoming party, huh?"

I nodded, unsure of what to say back.

"It's okay, hon. Lemme tell you, if Giant likes you, then you've got nothing to worry about."

"Oh, thanks, Ms. Armstrong-"

"Oh please dear, call me Ebby. It's short for Ebony."

"Mother…" Shadow groaned, pulling on his gloves.

"That's right, we have a guest! Why don't you two settle in the living room and I'll make something, okay?"

Before I could reply, Shadow dragged me in and plopped down on the couch.

"Sorry, my mother gets kind of, erm, _overexcited_ when new people show up at our house," Shadow explained.

"Hey, at least she's friendlier than my mom. She'd probably call the police on you," I teased, trying to make the situation lighter. A smirk was all I received in response.

"So, Reens, what should we do now?"

"I thought you said we were going to do the portrait thing-"

"Right, right. Hold on a second." He dug out his sketchbook, which surprisingly was in mint condition even with all the running around.

"Wow, I thought that thing was a goner."

"Okay, now hold as still as possible."

"Can I at least breathe a little?"

He looked up from his pencil box and nodded. "Can you… hold your hair?"

"Like this?" I gently took a few strands and twisted them around my fingers.

He didn't reply, which I interpreted as a yes from him. As he sketched, he asked me where I had moved from and why.

"Well, my papa didn't have a very good job where we used to live. It was hard for us to get money for groceries and bedding and stuff. So one day, he received a phone call from the boss of the company competing against where he worked. Basically, he wanted my papa to uproot us from where we were and move here. Now he's working at his new job at the steel factory."

"And how is that going for him?"

"Pretty well. Besides the fact he gets home late every night, he still takes time out for us."

"I see. I've lived here my whole life. My mom works from home, making purses and other, er, womanly stuff out of fabric."

"That's pretty cool," I replied, stroking my hair. "Where does your dad work?"

By the way his body tensed up and his teeth clenched, I could tell it was a tender subject.

He looked over at me and shook his head. "I don't know, and frankly I don't care. He left us when I was 5 and Tobias was 7. He just packed up, took half of our money with him, and left. We still get birthday cards and Christmas presents, but it really isn't the same."

I looked down a little with my eyes, but quickly shot them back up before he could notice. "Um, not trying to be rude or anything, but are you almost finished?"

He nodded, putting his arm out to steady me. "Almost done… there." He leaned back and smirked. "You can look now." I almost cried in joy.

"Shadow… this is… amazing," I whispered, looking at myself. He had captured everything about my face; my wrinkled forehead in confusion, the slight smile on my lips, the excited sparkle in my eyes. "I'm sure Mr. Miller will be ecstatic about this! I know I am!"

He started to smirk, but then his face relaxed into a genuine smile. I had never seen him smile before, and it was something I didn't want to forget.

"Now it's your turn," he remarked, snapping me out of it.

"Hm?"

"To draw me."

Oh, right, I had forgotten about that. "I don't know if I can do as well as you, Shadow. You're really talented and all."

He huffed and handed me his sketchbook. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. Now just relax and let your hands do the work for you, alright?" My pencil poised over the paper, I wanted to make sure I captured his smile right.

Just as I was about to start drawing him, Ebby walked in carrying two plates of food.

"I thought you guys might get hungry, so I made a little extra. You won't mind staying for dinner, will you?"

"Mother…" Shadow groaned in a warning tone, but I interrupted him before he could say anything else.

"I should probably call my mom first, just to let her know."

"Oh, that's right. How silly of me. You can use the one in the kitchen, honey."

I got up from the couch to use the phone, and when I entered, Tobias turned around with a glass of water in his hand.

"Hey, Tobias." He waved slightly and moved over so I could use the phone. As soon as it rang twice, my mom answered.

"Reens? ¿Dónde estás, cariño? He sido esperando a que llegue a casa por unas horas ahora. He estado recibiendo preocupado."

"Mama, I'm fine. I went with my friend to his house for a homework project and his mom asked if I could stay over for dinner. That okay?"

"Supongo que sí. Sólo tenga cuidado y asegúrese de que llegue a casa a las nueve en punto, ¿de acuerdo?"

"Sure, nine it is. See you when I get home."

I hung up the phone and went to the living room. Tobias had joined Shadow and Ebby when I walked in. "She said it was fine as long as I got back home around nine."

"That's great! Don't worry, we didn't start eating without you."

I grinned and sat down next to Tobias, who smiled back. As we dug into the pasta and garlic bread, Ebby asked how our classes were going.

"Classes are fine, I guess. I'm still getting used to a new school, but at least now I have a group of friends to help me out."

Tobias, his mouth stuffed with garlic bread, nodded enthusiastically and smiled, earning a laugh from the rest of us. I liked Tobias' laugh, even though it was silent, and his eyes glittered like small jades.

"How about you two, darlings? Are your classes going well?" Ebby glanced at Shadow, who swallowed a bite of pasta before speaking.

"Well, I'm having a bit of trouble in my English class, but Reens is helping me. I'm also helping her with her algebra stuff, so it's a win-win."

Tobias' eyes shot over to me before he started signing. 'Classes are fine, even though I don't have many people who I can talk to besides you all. No one really wants to talk to a deaf guy.'

"Aw, Toby," Ebby cooed, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You know you can always talk to me, right?"

'Of course, Momma,' he signed back, smiling.

"Well, I'm done. I'll go ahead and do dishes, dears."

"I'll help, Ms. A- er, Ebby," I yelped, grabbing dirty dishes and forks as I went.

"Oh, you don't have to, sweetie."

"It's the least I can do to thank you for the amazing meal."

As we washed dishes, Ebby asked me more about my home life and where I was from.

Watching the water swirl in the sink, I almost didn't hear her correctly. "Well, I only have my mama and papa. My brother… he…" I paused, sniffing and wiping my eyes.

Ebby said nothing, just took me in her arms and wrapped me up in her embrace. "Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry, I should've never said anything-"

"No, it's… it's…"

We slid down to the kitchen floor, my tears soaking into her fur as she held me.

"Just let it all out, honey," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes as well. We stayed like that for a good few minutes, Tobias and Shadow standing by, obviously uncomfortable. _I guess they aren't used to this much emotion in the house… sigh._

Suddenly, I looked up at the clock. It was 8:30, and I only had 30 minutes to get to my house. After wiping my face free of tears and, well, some snot (ew…), I hugged Ebby and Tobias goodbye before Shadow led me outside in order to catch my bus. We stood at the bus stop, not talking, my fingers twitching. Shadow looked up at me, his face unreadable.

"So… what exactly were you and my mom blubbering about in my kitchen?"

I paused, not wanting to cry again in front of him. My fingers tugged in my hair, removing loose strands of it along with shed quills.

"Oh, ah… it wasn't anything for you to be concerned about," I finished lamely.

He lifted up my face and wiped away a stray tear that had escaped. "You know… pretty girls shouldn't cry."

"You really think I'm pretty?"

"Not just pretty, Rain. You're… beautiful. Since the day we met."

He leaned closer, my heart beating a hundred times a second. As he was about to kiss my cheek, the bus pulled up.

"Ah. Your ride's here," he slightly groaned before kissing my cheek anyway. "Have a good night, Reens."

I climbed on the bus, waving to him before it started to roll. Sitting in my seat, I curled up into myself, blushing cherry red. _He… kissed my cheek…_ The ride home was one of the best of my life. How could things get better - or, I guess, worse too?

Well, I found out once I got home. Papa was there, which was kinda odd since he always came home late. As soon as I stepped off, Mama swooped me up into a hug, with Papa behind us.

"Huh? What's going on? I made sure I got home by 9:00-"

"Not that, sweetie," Papa said in his broken English.

"What's wrong, Papi?" He looked at my mother, who sniffled.

"I… lost my job today, carino. We won't have much money now, so… I'm so sorry, pumpkin, I really am."

I looked at him, then sighed.

"Guess having a car is out of the question, huh?" I joked, grinning despite my shock.

We just stayed there for a few minutes, my mind whirling.

 _What am I going to tell Shadow and everyone else now?_


	7. Chapter 6: Side Quests and Slow Days

Plugged In

Side Quests and Slow Days

Unfortunately, admitting that I was now one of the poorest people in school was not a strong point for me. I'd rather admit that my leg is broken in 23 places or that I just drank the last apple juice on the counter. Being poor is not everyone's best dream, but for me, I guess it was okay. Papi could be home a lot more now, and he always gave me a kiss on the cheek when I got home from school. Mama still worked, but I had been helping as well. I had recently gotten a job at the flower shop near our house, and even though I didn't have a car yet, I could walk there.

 _Thank goodness it's a Saturday_ , I thought as I rearranged the tulips on display. _Maybe nobody will come in that I know…_ The little bell above the doorframe rang, and an older pig gentleman walked in with what I assumed to be his granddaughter. I smiled and rehearsed the lines that I use whenever customers come into our store, even though they're incredibly cheesy.

"Hello and welcome to Toadstool Trinkets, where the flowers are cheap but the trinkets are not. How may I help you today? My name is Reens, so just let me know when you find something."

The gentleman smiled back, although a bit reluctantly, and moved toward the lilies. His granddaughter walked over towards the roses and sniffed one, a smile washing over her face.

"Those are our bestsellers," I mentioned. "Would you like one?"

"Uh, I don't have any money," she whispered, scuffing her foot on the ground.

"That's okay, honey. Tell you what, I'll let you have it if you give me a big smile. Okay?"

She looked at me and gave me the biggest smile she could, the small gap in her teeth showing.

"Aw, that's so cute," I cooed over her, gently taking the rose and placing it in her hair. "Now you go on to your grandpa, okay?"

The gentleman eventually left without purchasing anything, but the smile as he saw his granddaughter excitedly telling him all about the rose was all worth it. My boss, Mr. Dee, walked up to me and folded his arms across his chest, staring me down.

"How many times have I told you, Miss Maricina? We do _not_ just _give_ our flowers away. They're _customers_. They must _buy_ any of the flowers we have available. I do not want to catch you breaking rules _again_. Clear?"

I could've told that snobby penguin off - I totally could have - but this was the best-paying job I could get in a while, so I just nodded and went back to the counter, clearing off shed petals and stem clippings. Business is usually slow around this time of day, at least that's what my new coworker Michelle told me, so it was a while before any more customers arrived. Becoming a little bored, I decided to take my lunch break outside, nibbling on my sandwich.

Who could've guessed that Amy Rose would be coming my way, holding various shopping bags and chatting it up with Sally and Rouge. I suppose they've become friends or something? Why should I care about high school drama? Not like it matters to me that much.

"Hey, Rain! Didn't think you'd be out here! What are you doing?" Amy asked, setting her bags down beside me.

"And what are you _wearing_?" Sally chimed in, looking over my uniform with slight disgust. Rouge said nothing but nonchalantly checked her nails, looking me over.

"I work here," I replied, nodding my head over to the flower shop. _Not like any of you have ever had to **work**._ "Taking the day shopping?"

"Yup, we just got done over at the mall. There's so much cute stuff that they've just restocked, I just _had_ to check it out," Amy gushed, sitting down next to me on the curb.

"You're gonna get your pants dirty," Sally warned, yanking Amy up and away from me.

"Ow, not so rough! Hey, you should come with us!"

I slightly cocked my head at her, frowning. "Like, to the mall?"

"Yeah! We could totally find some new outfits for you! What do you say?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, I have to get back to work."

"Aww, no fair," Amy whined, jutting out her lower lip.

"Maybe I could convince your boss for you, sweetie," Rouge spoke up, batting her eyelashes. "New clothes always work wonders for me. And I'm sure _Shadow_ would like seeing them on you, too," she whispered, making my face turn rosy. She strutted, quite literally, into the flower shop. I could hear her faintly talking with my boss and saw her hand on her hip, slowly seducing him with her words.

Not even two minutes later, Rouge came back out with a large smirk on her face.

"What did you _do_ to him?"

"Oh, I might have asked him to give you the rest of the day off. And I promised him that you would come back early tomorrow ready to work again."

"You're so amazing, Rouge!" Sally squealed, giving her a high-five.

"Yes! More shopping!" Amy joined in with Sally's squealing as I covered my ears with a grimace.

"Great… shopping… Oh rapture."

* * *

Cue me slowly moving along with them, being dragged from store to store. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate going to the mall? Including the fact that I pretty much have no money to my name? They didn't seem to care, having me try on outfit after outfit. I must admit though, trying the outfits on was enjoyable, even though most of them didn't match my taste.

"Oh, sweetie, you look so adorable!" Amy tittered, looking over a white sundress I had on.

I smoothed down the front of the dress and sighed.

"What's wrong, hun?" Rouge asked, concerned.

"Is it the wrong color? We can get a different one for you," Sally suggested.

"It's not that," I muttered, rubbing my arms. "I just… why are you all doing this for me?"

The three of them looked at each other as I continued.

"I'm not very popular, and sure I have a few friends, but why would you all take the time to hang out with me at all? I just… I don't understand."

"Aw, honey, we're just trying to help," Rouge cooed, coming to my left.

"Don't you want the guys to notice you a little better?" Sally chirped in front of me.

"Besides, what friends would we be if we didn't help you out occasionally?" Amy added, reaching to my right. "Friends should stick together, hmm?"

I thought about that for a minute and shook my head ruefully. "Until today, you two-" I looked pointedly at Sally and Amy- "weren't even really my friends. And I highly doubt you want to become my friends now. If you'll excuse me, I should get back to work." I changed and walked out of the mall with my head held high, tugging on my gloves. I barely heard Rouge scoff in my direction as she and the others continued with their plans.

* * *

Maybe I didn't mention it before, but business can be grinding at a florist if nobody comes around in the afternoon. Sure, there were maybe one or two more customers by the time I explained to my boss what happened and got my paycheck docked for Rouge's little scheme, but to be truthful, I was bored out of my mind. As I was trimming stems for the third time that day, guess who walked in the door. It was Tobias and Shadow, each wearing a random rock band shirt and jeans, though Shadow held a leather jacket over one shoulder. Neither of them noticed me at first- until I dropped my scissors on the tile, making them clatter loudly at my feet.

"Hello, and welcome to-"

"Reens? What are you doing here?" Shadow asked, picking up the scissors and handing them over.

"Uh, hi guys. This is my job," I explained as I trimmed the stem off a rose and placed it in a vase. "Just trying to earn some extra cash for college, you know?"

Tobias looked over at the bouquets and pointed to one. 'We're getting some flowers for Mom's birthday,' he signed. 'What do you think about this?'

"Aw, you don't want that one," I replied, shaking my head. "They won't last long. But these," I moved over to a slightly smaller bouquet, "last a lot longer - and they smell sweeter too."

Tobias took the bouquet and grinned.

"I didn't know you worked at a florist," Shadow mentioned.

"I started my job about a week ago, really," I said with a shrug. "Rouge, Amy and Sally roped me into shopping with them and I lost time from that, so…"

Shadow shook his head ruefully. "I'm telling you, they're no good. All they care about right now is fashion trends and breaking hearts."

My ear twitched in annoyance. "Rouge seemed okay at first. I wouldn't think she would join up with Amy and Sally though."

Tobias handed me his cash for the bouquet, and I was about to give him change when he waved his hand. 'Keep it,' he signed, taking the wrapped bouquet and exiting.

"Guess I'll see you on Monday, Reens." Shadow hesitated before following Tobias out with a casual wave.

Speaking of the queen and her ladies-in-waiting, Sally and posse walked in just as Shadow left. Sally looked in his direction longingly, while Amy just sighed dreamily.

"He's just so _hot_ …"

"I thought you liked Sonic."

"Don't get me wrong, I do, but I can at least peek at the market, right?"

Rouge waltzed over and laced a hand on the counter.

"What are you really doing here?" I asked, picking up a vase of daisies.

"We just wanted to formally apologize for how we acted earlier today," Rouge crooned. Ugh, her voice was making me sick with its fake sweetness.

"Look, not trying to be rude, but if you aren't going to purchase anything, I suggest you leave," I informed her, trying to make my voice sound sickly sweet. Her face twisted into disgust as she removed her hand, turning and 'accidentally' knocking an expensive vase onto the floor.

"Oops, sorry for the mess. C'mon ladies, we're done here," Rouge tittered as they left.

Guess who had to pay off the vase for the next few weeks now? First and second guess doesn't count.

* * *

I came home to screaming. At first I thought Mama was just yelling over the phone at a client, but then I realized she was yelling at Papa. From the sounds of it, it wasn't a minor thing. They didn't see me come in until I placed my purse on the kitchen table. Mama turned with tears in her eyes and, speechless, shooed me to my room. I plopped on my bed and laid there for a few minutes until Papa started to stomp upstairs. Mama didn't say anything as he went stomping back downstairs to pull out the couch.

" _Buenas noches, mi rosa_."

" _Olvídalo, estúpido cerdo_."

Great, now my parents are fighting too. What else could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Next time, warn me before I jinx myself.


	8. Chapter 7: Hot-Wired

Plugged In

Hot-Wired

Turns out that Mama and Papa were hiding something from me. Due to Carlos' untimely death, Mama resorted to taking therapy sessions. Those sessions cost a lot of extra money, money we didn't have. Papa had to take a second job to pay expenses, which ended up with him losing the first job he had due to poor attendance. Now that he is making less money, Mama can't afford to go to her therapy sessions, and my school tuition is growing. My job at the florist's is going well, even though Mr. Dee still has me paying for that vase. I've been taking the bus less to save money, and asking my friends for rides, but I think it's gotten to the point where it's too annoying for them to keep helping me. Maybe I should just quit …

* * *

Tails entered the school courtyard Monday morning to see me, looking over at the rose bush next to the bench I was sitting on. He sat next to me gently, putting his hand next to mine.

"It's a pretty rosebush, isn't it?" he asked, noticing the soft crimson petals.

"Yeah, but the gardener doesn't seem to care," I retorted. "Just look at the quality of those stems. And the dirt's all wrong; it's way too acidic for these roses to grow. And the bushes are too close together; roses need enough space to grow out."

He cocked his head at me. "Since when did you know so much about roses?"

"I work at a florist," I admitted with a shrug. "My coworker really knows her stuff."

"Maybe you could talk to the principal," Tails suggested. "He could have you assist the gardener on school grounds. He might pay you if you ask him."

"I'll ask, but I doubt it."

Little did I know that there was a figure standing behind an oak tree near the rosebush, taking pictures with her phone. Tails noticed my slightly disheveled appearance.

"Did you have a rough night?"

I didn't want to tell him that my family was basically falling apart at the seams, so I tried to find a way to avoid his questioning. "Um… oh, I gotta get going; I'm almost late for Chem class."

"But she won't -"

"Sorry gotta go bye!" I spat out as I ran, leaving a confused Tails behind me. I eventually made it to the ladies' bathroom, pulling out a comb and my toothbrush. "Well, I can at least freshen up a little," I said to myself, pulling the comb through my hair.

"Reens?" Cosmo peeked her head out from behind a stall, startling me. "What are you doing here? Chem class starts soon."

"Just, ah, freshening up a little," I blushed. "You should get going."

"Oh, uh, okay," Cosmo replied, leaving the bathroom with a worried look on her face.

* * *

"You guys, I'm worried about Reens," Tails confessed during his P.E. class. Coach was out sick, so everyone essentially had a free period. Many were on their phones and laptops while a group of guys played an impromptu game of basketball.

"Uh, why?" Knuckles asked, rubbing his dreadlocks. "She looks fine to me."

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'fine'," Cream said, joining the group. "She's trying to get with Tails."

"What? No way, I just like her as a friend."

"Then why were you two so close together this morning? Amy saw the whole thing." Tails grunted.

"Who cares what she was doing? I was just talking to her about rosebushes."

"Weird topic, but whatever," Cream huffed.

"You're not the only one who's worried," Blaze responded, walking up with Silver. "I tried to talk to her on Friday for library tech, and she didn't look like she heard me."

"Maybe she just has a lot on her mind," Silver suggested.

"If she has a problem, she knows she can come to us… right?" Cosmo whispered.

Shadow and Tobias joined the group as well, stoically listening in. "Maybe you should talk to her, Cream," Shadow grunted, folding his arms.

"Me? Why me?"

"You guys are friends, right?" Tobias signed. "She trusts you."

Cream sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll talk to her, but you guys better back me up on it."

* * *

I had a feeling that someone was following me today, but I shrugged it off as paranoia. Ever since the shopping trip with Amy, Sally, and Rouge, those three wouldn't leave me alone. I had one of them in each of my classes, and it made it hard for me to concentrate. Good thing Mr. Miller said we could work on our next art project by ourselves if we wanted, because there was no way I was going to work with her. Unfortunately, the queen decided to sit next to me in class anyway. We were supposed to choose an object in the room that described us and draw it, like a still-life. I hadn't chosen anything before Miss Prissy plopped down next to me with her water bottle. It was one of the large ones you could get at the gas station, and it was all the way full.

"I can't believe I'm still _in_ this class," Sally sighed as she picked up a pencil and looked around.

I didn't say anything, but silently, I agreed with her.

"I just wish Mina and Bunnie didn't have to transfer to a different class. It was great chatting during the slow parts." She looked over at me, sniffed, and frowned. "Ugh, did you even shower today?"

"Um, yeah, I did."

"Well, obviously you didn't do well," she coughed with a gag. "You smell like old cheese."

My ears drooped, but I decided not to answer her.

"Anyway, what are you drawing?" she asked me, looking over at my blank page.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I haven't found anything in here that speaks to me yet."

Sally smirked. "Well, I have," she said, uncapping her water bottle as if to take a sip.

"Oh? What did you find?"

"This," she snapped, pouring the whole bottle over my head. I gasped as the cold water ran down my back, soaking me from head to toe. "Maybe add a little soap," Sally quipped. "Now you'll smell better."

The whole class turned their heads to look at me. Some of them started laughing while others took pictures with their phones. I leapt out of my seat and took off towards the ladies' bathroom again, trying not to cry. I didn't notice a voice calling my name and running after me. As soon as I reached the bathroom, I stripped down to my underwear in a stall and sat on the dirty tile floor, knees pulled up to my chest. A gentle knock sounded outside of the door, startling me.

"Reens? Are you okay in there?"

I peeked underneath the door to see a pair of red shoes with golden buckles.

"Sonic, what are you doing in here?! This is the ladies' room!"

"I know," he said as he bent down, "but I wanted to make sure you were alright. Sally went way too far."

I was shivering, my arms clasped around my knees. "It's c-cold in here," I admitted.

"Here, put your clothes on and we'll go to the nurse's office. She should have a warm change of clothes in there," Sonic suggested.

"Okay, but please turn around."

"No problem," he said, his shoes walking away. I pulled my soggy clothes back on and walked out of the stall, Sonic taking my right arm gently.

"Let me help you." He led me to the nurse's office as I wobbled; my feet had fallen asleep as I was sitting on the ground trying to dry off.

We made it to the nurse's office. Nurse Bernie, as everyone called her, took one look at me and gasped.

"Oh, you poor thing! What happened to you, honey? You poor dear…"

Sonic explained to her what happened as she ushered me into one of the rooms.

"Don't you worry, cupcake, Nurse Bernie's gonna take good care of you. Sonic, you can go back to class now, hon."

"No thanks, Ms. Bernie. I'll wait for her."

I poked my head around the door. "Really, it's okay. Just go back to class; I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Sonic asked as Bernie pushed him out the door.

"Go on, honey. She needs to change anyway."

"I'll see you later, then," he called behind him.

I sighed in relief as Bernie closed the door behind her. "Oh, sweetie, you don't look good at all. There's some towels over there; why don't you dry off some more while I find you some dry clothes?"

"Thank you, Nurse Bernadette -"

"Just call me Bernie, sweetie. Everyone does," she said as she showed me the towels. I took a few and rubbed everywhere until I was dry enough. Bernie came back with a sweater, blue jeans, and clean socks.

"Here, I hope they fit you, dear."

I tried the clothes on. The sweater was warm enough, and the jeans fit just fine.

"Do you want to go back to class, or do you want to go home, honey?" Bernie asked, putting down a plastic bag with my wet clothes in it.

"I… I'll go back to class," I replied, pulling the socks over my feet.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should call your parents-"

"No!" I yelled, making her flinch back. "I mean, I'm sorry, Bernie, but they're really busy and I don't want to bother them."

"Well, if that's what you want, dear," Bernie said with a sigh.

"Thank you very much for your help," I replied as I exited the room. I could see her face behind me as I left, still worried. How was I supposed to tell her anything else?

* * *

Since my art class was over and I had left my backpack in there, I had nothing for my choir class. That is, until I felt something bump my back. Shadow was standing beside me, his backpack on his shoulders and mine in one arm.

"You left this," he said, putting it next to my chair.

"Oh, thanks, Shadow," I mumbled, my head in my hands.

"Are you okay? I saw what happened between you and Sally."

"Yeah, I'm good."

"You shouldn't have let her do that," he griped as he sat next to me.

"What are you talking about? There's no way I could've fought her in class. Mr. Miller would've killed me!"

"No, I mean you shouldn't have let her walk all over you. It's not right."

"Oh, like you could've done any better," I snapped. "There's no way in hell _you_ would've hit her."

"Want to bet? I could've taken her down easy."

"Then why didn't you?"

"She wasn't worth it," he admitted, rubbing his quills with one hand. "It would've been pointless. Besides, her mom's the vice principal, and she already hates me."

"Sally's mom is the vice principal? I had no idea," I gasped.

"Everybody knows that, doofus," Mina snarked, a few chairs away. "And after what happened with you and Sally I bet she's not gonna be happy."

"She's right, blabbermouth," Sally added, walking in the room a little later than usual. "Once I tell my mother about this, there's no way you're going to stay in this school as long as you have; I'll make sure of that."

The choir teacher walked in with a gigantic smile on her face. Mr. Miller also walked in behind her, along with the shop teacher Mr. Collins. The class chittered about what they thought was going on until the choir teacher raised a wing to silence them.

"Alright, everyone, settle down please. As you may already know, we always perform two musicals for the autumn and spring semesters. Well, I am pleased to announce that Mr. Miller and Mr. Collins have gracefully agreed to help us this year. Mrs. Kyle, the drama teacher, has specifically asked us to perform one of her most favorite plays. There are three that she has chosen from: Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, and Aladdin. We're going to have a class-to-class vote on which play we should perform. Make certain that all of you place your ballots in the correct boxes," she said, pointing to them. "The play with the most votes will be our play for the autumn semester. Once the play has been chosen, auditions will begin with Mrs. Kyle and myself. Please check your student emails for more information. That will be all for now, gentlemen." Mr. Miller and Mr. Collins passed by us as they exited, with Mr. Miller giving me a sympathetic look. "Now if you would turn in your exercise books to page 120, we will begin…"

* * *

"I'm totally voting for Aladdin," Sally said later at lunch. For some reason, she had dragged me over to sit with her, Amy, and Rouge at their table. "Princess Jasmine's costume is to _die_ for."

"Hmm, I'm more for Snow White," Amy disagreed. "A classic love story with a princess who finds her prince, poison apple, those cute dwarves -"

"Cute? They're hideous," Rouge huffed. "I'd rather be in Alice in Wonderland. I could pull off the Red Queen." All three of them looked over at me.

"That's right, you've never been in a play before, have you Reens?"

"Um, I was Sacagawea in fourth grade, and one of the three little pigs in kindergarten," I said embarrassed.

"Those don't count, silly," Sally sneered. "I mean a _real_ play, one that's actually _good_."

"Have you voted yet?" Amy asked sweetly, glaring across the table at Sally.

"Um, not really. All options are good, but I want to wait a bit before I just randomly choose one."

"Hmph, don't wait too long, or you might end up performing in something you hate," Rouge mumbled sipping her milk.

"At least Snow White has a wishing well," Sally smirked. "You could take another shower with it!" The three of them giggled as I got up, throwing my wrappers in the trash. "Aw, was it something I said? Hey, maybe for Christmas I'll give you a loofa! Right, right?"

"Lay off already," Amy huffed. "The joke's getting old… but not as old as those sneakers, eh?"

"What's wrong with them?" I asked, bending down to tie one of my laces.

"Oh, not much; just the fact they haven't been on any trips lately," Rouge quipped as I rose, sticking her foot out just as I passed by. I stumbled and caught myself briefly before losing my balance and landing right on a metal floorplate.

"Clumsy baby," Sally giggled as the three of them left for their next class. I tried my best, but when I wanted to get up, it hurt too much.

Luckily, a red arm reached down for me.

"Hey, I saw what happened back there," Knuckles grunted. "Those three were up to no good."

"No kidding," I retorted, wincing as pain shot through my bottom.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah, just a little disoriented."

"Maybe you should see the nurse."

I shook my head, almost hitting him in the face with my braid. "I don't think so. I've already been in there once today because Madame poured a huge water bottle all over me in art."

Knuckles sucked his teeth and whistled. "That's no fun, huh?"

Another wave of pain shot through me, making me grit my teeth.

"I really think you should go to the nurse," he said, concerned. "No excuses, okay?" For the second time that day, I was led to the nurse's office.

* * *

Turns out the fall fractured my tailbone and tail. I need to sit on a pillow for six weeks, take awful meds, and avoid falling again. Plus, Miss Prissy decided to blame me for everything, but it backfired on her. Her mama didn't believe her, so she was suspended for a few days. I guess having a broken tailbone comes with some perks. I get to sit on a pillow, avoid P.E., and Sally and her posse leave me alone. All I can think about is my job. Will what I make be enough to pay off the medical bills? Depends if Papa can keep his second job longer than the first. With both of us together, there shouldn't be any problem … right?


	9. Chapter 8: Please Stand By

Plugged In

Please Stand By

"Welcome to the auditions for our school play, Aladdin, as chosen by the public!"

The choir teacher, Mrs. McCullough, beamed as she handed out little booklets to the students, with _Aladdin Jr._ boldly emblazoned on the cover.

"Now, what I need you to do is choose a scene from this sample booklet and act it out. Females will need to act out female parts and males will act out male parts, except for the Genie, which can be played by either gender. You will have 15 minutes to prepare, and then act out your chosen scene in front of the class! Get to it, young thespians!"

"Ugh," Amy groaned, looking over the script."Why do we have to do this again?"

Sally sniffed with disdain. "At least I'll be playing Jasmine."

"Who said _you_ were playing Jasmine?" Rouge interrupted, looking at her own book near Sally's shoulder. "You would at least play her understudy, or be part of the chorus with your voice."

I simply sat there and said nothing, reading over the part for Genie. Since my tailbone hadn't healed completely yet, I was still sitting on the stupid pillow. Shadow sauntered over and leaned down next to me, since he was one of the only students who hadn't received a booklet.

"So, which part are you thinking about?"

I looked up at him with a shrug. "I might be playing Genie, since it's a gender-neutral part. What about you?"

He sniffed, then crossed his arms. "To be honest, I wasn't interested in participating in this production, but since it's a requirement, I've decided to help with the scenery instead."

"You can do that?"

"Every play needs a good backdrop."

"Maybe I'll go backstage too," Amy said thoughtfully. "I can hang out with Sonic that way."

"Um, as far as I know, Sonic's not part of the choir or drama club," Mina mentioned, joining our small group.

"I know that, silly, but maybe I can convince him to help with the set."

Mrs. McCullough piped up with a smile. "Alright now, my lovely thespians! Come join in the circle, where you will perform your chosen scenes!"

Sally, Rouge, and Amy got up and joined the circle, while Shadow helped me up from my pillow and carried me under my arms.

"You really don't have to do that," I whispered to him, slightly embarrassed.

The rest of the students begrudgingly joined us as Mrs. Kyle walked onstage. "Now, who wants to go first?"

Three students got up and performed the scene where Aladdin first meets the Genie. It wasn't bad, but the actor playing Aladdin mumbled his lines. They sat down, and another group went up preforming the scene where Aladdin kisses Jasmine on the balcony. Instead of kissing her on the mouth, the boy kissed her hand.

"Lame," Sally whispered to Rouge, faking a gagging noise.

Other groups went performing different scenes until Sally, Rouge, Amy, and I ended up performing together. Since we were all female, we pretended to play male roles just for fun. Amy played the Sultan, Rouge played Aladdin, and Sally played Jafar. I ended up playing Jasmine, and even though we had fifteen minutes to practice, I say we did well. After the acting portion was finished, Mrs. McCullough pulled out a keyboard.

"Now since this is a musical, we'll need you all to practice one of the songs for each part you wish to play. If you're playing a major part without a song, then practice a song for a different part."

This time, she gave us twenty minutes instead of fifteen.

"Sheesh, this period's just going on forever isn't it?" Cosmo said to me, walking past with sheet music.

"Yeah; I would have thought the bell rang by now."

"Since this play is so important, they canceled some of the classes for everyone participating. If you had read your email you would've known," Amy replied with a huff.

I still didn't have a laptop, and the library computers were sluggish at best.

"You wanna practice with me? I'm trying out for Genie, but I doubt I'll get the part," Cosmo sighed.

"Sure, I'll practice with you. How about we switch back and forth?"

"Great!"

The two of us shared her sheet music. I thought Cosmo's voice was beautiful, even though she didn't sound confident in herself. After she finished, she switched spots. As I sang, I noticed her staring at me from the corner of my eye.

"Your voice is so pretty," she said to me breathlessly when I was done.

"Really? I didn't think it was that good," I replied, trying not to let my pride show through.

"You really aren't that great hon," Rouge quipped, joining us. "Maybe you'll end up being part of the chorus."

"What about you? I didn't hear you practicing any," Cosmo retorted with a huff.

"Who needs practice when you're already one of the best soloists?"

All around me I could hear other students singing, or at least attempting to without being pushed down by their peers. Sally, as always, sounded like a crow who was choking on corn. Amy's voice was sweet, but I could tell she wasn't on key. In my deepest heart of hearts, I knew even if I tried, I wouldn't get a part I enjoyed. There were plenty of other students to compare myself to, so who was I to be placed on a higher pedestal? My musings were interrupted by a gentle tap on the shoulder.

"Um, would you mind singing a duet with me? I'm trying out for Aladdin and, well, nobody else wants to help me."

I turned to see Silver standing there, his hand behind his head, blushing crimson.

"Silver? I didn't think you were in the drama club or choir," I replied with confusion.

"I'm not, but the flier said anybody could participate if they wanted to, and, well, Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie ever, and, er, Blaze was busy, so she couldn't come with me, and, um, Sonic and Tails and the rest of the gang are doing their own thing, and-"

"Silver, Silver. Calm down. I didn't say no."

"So, you'll help me?" Silver asked, his eyes gleaming.

"Sure, why not?"

"Great!" he cried, pulling me over to a piano and letting me sit on the bench, pillow in tow. "I'm not great with piano stuff, so I'll just play the first note."

He gently pressed the key and took a deep breath, then began to sing. I was impressed; for someone who wasn't in choir he had an incredible tenor. When my turn came, I echoed his actions and began. After a while, we sounded great together in my opinion. Feeling eyes on my back, I turned my head slightly to see other people who were auditioning staring at us.

"Um, Silver, why are they staring?"

Silver stopped singing and turned. "Maybe they're as impressed as I am," he shrugged.

"Or _maybe_ they're just waiting for their turn, you know. You're hogging the piano!" Mina snapped, shooing Silver away.

I followed him begrudgingly. When the time was up, Mrs. McCullough motioned all of us over so we could perform our practiced songs. Sally ended up paired with Silver for their duet, Amy paired with a guy I didn't know, Rouge paired up with a mongoose called Ash, and I ended up by myself.

"Now that we're all paired up, go ahead and start singing!"

When the music started, Silver's face fell. He was so nervous that he missed his cue. Sally nudged him in the stomach harshly. He stuttered, then began when the music started over. When he was finished, he sat down next to me and buried his face in his hands.

"That was so embarrassing," he moaned.

"At least you weren't by yourself," I muttered back, waiting for Amy and the guy she was with to finish.

As Amy sat down, Sally smirked. "At least _I_ was on key, right?"

"What? I was, I was on key! The guy I was with, he totally wasn't!"

"Cut it out you two," Rouge huffed as she sat back down. "At least I tried. Ash has _no_ sense of rhythm!"

"Reens? Oh, it looks like you don't have a partner, hon. Does anyone want to volunteer to sing with her? Anyone?"

I slumped down a little more in my seat before getting up. "That's fine, Mrs. McCullough. I'm gonna sing Genie's song instead."

"Well, alright then. Music!"

Mrs. Kyle pressed play, and I started singing and dancing a little with it. The whole time, I could feel eyes on me, and I tried to ignore them as I continued.

When I was done, I took a little bow and smiled, returning to my seat on the pillow.

"Well, that's it for the auditions my dear thespians! Keep your eyes open for callbacks and roles! And whatever you do, don't share your role with anyone else! We don't want any jealousy in our little family, do we?"

Mrs. Kyle and Mrs. McCullough handed out hall passes so we could all return to our schedules. As I took mine, I heard Sally, Amy, and Rouge chattering behind me. I shrugged and went to my class, leaving them behind me. Silver caught up to me and panted, smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry I didn't sing with you, but I was already reeling from my first attempt and I didn't want to embarrass you too."

"Aw, that's fine," I said with a grin. "Aladdin doesn't have any singing parts in Genie's song anyhow."

"I know that," Silver replied with a soft blush. "I just meant, well, I wanted, I wanted to make you feel better, but, but I couldn't bring myself to get up there again."

"You wanna go somewhere else for lunch today?" a voice sounded in front of me. Sonic and Knuckles were standing next to Knuckles' locker, with Tails leaning on it.

"Where should we go? I don't know of any cheap places near here."

"There's this little diner a few minutes away, and they have good chili dogs," Sonic suggested, licking his lips.

"A few minutes for you is a couple hours for us," Silver pointed out as he joined them.

"What? I can't help being the fastest thing alive!" Sonic sighed dramatically, leaning on the adjacent locker and raising his arm to his forehead. "My metabolism is unmatched throughout the land!"

"Knock it off, faker," Shadow growled as he joined the group. "If we're gonna get there we better leave soon."

"I should ask the other gals if they wanna go!" Tails proposed with a grin, his tails swishing.

"Great idea!"

Amy squealed, nearly falling onto Sonic. "We can all grab a booth together!"

"Exactly how many are we talking about though?" Cream asked, with Cosmo trailing behind.

"You, me, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, Tails, Knux, Rouge, Sally, Cosmo, Sonic, Mina, and… I think that's it," Amy thought out loud.

"But what about Reens?" Cosmo asked, looking over at me. "She should be included too!"

"Reens is too poor," Sally smirked, holding out her purse.

"Poor? Whaddya mean poor? She's-"

"Living off government handouts, duh." Rouge looked me over and scoffed. "I mean, she wears the same outfit every day, barely eats lunch, and for all I know she takes showers in the gym!"

My eyes watered, and I turned my head so no one could see me cry.

"That's not nice, Rouge! You take that back!" Cream moved in front of me, as if to shield me from Rouge's attacks.

"You think I'm lying? Ask her!" Rouge glared at me as Amy let go of Sonic.

"So that's why you ride the bus, right?"

"Ew, she rides the _bus_ too?" Sally commented.

My heart sank in my chest and I felt like I was going to throw up right then and there. I couldn't take it anymore, so I grit my teeth and ran toward the bathroom.

With heaves and sobs escaping my lips, I knelt in front of a toilet, nothing coming up. I was tired of everyone treating me differently just because I didn't live in the nicest home or had the best clothes to wear. I was tired of riding the bus instead of driving myself, and not having a license to do so. I was tired of working so hard and having it thrown back into my face. I was tired of wanting something different but having no clear way to get it. A sharp knock startled me from crying, and I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

"Reens? Are you in here?" The voice was unlike any I had heard. It was croaky and rough, like it hadn't been used in a while. I heard the stall door open slightly and gasped. It was Tobias. I hadn't seen him in so long, let alone hear him … speak?

"T-Tobias? What are you doing here? I, I thought you were trying to ignore me. You haven't come near me ever since the thing at the florist's."

He knelt to my level and pushed a bang out of my face, looking me in the eye. "Didn't I sign to you I was mute?" He smiled and chuckled. "Well, I forgot to tell you I was a selective mute, right? I only talk to certain people."

The tears I had been holding back started to spill over, and he gently reached up to wipe them away.

"What's with all the tears, my love?" I fell into his arms and sobbed, letting all my pent-up frustration and anger out, while he sat there cross-legged holding me close to his chest. "Shh… it's okay…" His large purple wings enveloped me, like a warm cocoon. We stayed like that for what felt like an hour until my sobs subsided and all I could muster were hiccups.

I ended up not eating lunch after all.


End file.
